Everything Has Changed

As I type this, I am watching history take shape. From this day forward, until the end of recorded time, historians will say that on June 3, 2008, the first African-American person was nominated by a major political party for President of the United States. Just typing that sentence caused me to take pause.

Barack Obama, my Senator, must now be seen as one of two people who have a chance to be President come January 20, 2009. For the next few months, the campaigns of Obama and McCain will try to prove to the American people that their respective candidate is the right person for the job. I know that Barack Obama is the best candidate for the Presidency, but I do not know if a majority of Americans will agree. What I do know is that after today, everything changes.

As with the Presidency of John F. Kennedy, the candidacy of Barack Obama shows every person in this country that they have a chance to lead this nation. Senator Obama was born of an African and a Kansan. He lived with his grand parents in Hawaii. He worked his way through school. He gave up a lucrative career to help poor families in Chicago. In four short years, he emerged from obscurity to win the hearts and minds of my generation and millions more. We in Illinois have known for years that he is special, but now, the world knows. His life proves that the American dream is alive and well, and on a August night in Denver, when we celebrate the 45^th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech, Barack Obama will fulfill a portion of that dream by accepting the Democratic nomination for President.

No matter what the outcome of November 4^th is, I can now tell my children that they can be President. Their sex, race, or background does not have to hold them back. We live in a country that allows for anyone to reach greatness.

Now, we just need to take one more step. Let history be written from tonight forward.

Knocking on history's (and Indianapolis's) door

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On Saturday, Craig and I took a trip with about 50 other Obama supporters to Indiana. We spent the day canvassing in Indianapolis. I'm happy to say that of the doors we knock, the Obama supporters greatly outweighed the Hillary supports. I'm looking forward to Senator Obama winning this nomination... the nomination that he has earned.

Open Letter to Howard Dean: The Day I Leave the Democratic Party

Chairman Dean:

I write to you today as a life long Democrat. I have knocked on countless doors, made thousands of phone calls, and devoted hundreds of hours in the effort to advance the message of the Democratic Party. I hope that I can continue that work throughout my life, and that some day I may have the honor to serve my community as a Democrat.

That is why I recently I have been very troubled. Our party has the best opportunity in my life time to lead this country in a new direction. If we fight for it, we will have the House, Senate, and White House come January 20, 2009. Then, the policies that you and I believe so highly in can begin to take shape. Unfortunately, members of the old guard are now squandering that prospect of change.

I believe that Senator Clinton is devoted to her constituents and that she is driven by many of the same values I am; however, we both know that she should not be the nominee of our party. At the end of this contest, Senator Obama will have earned the most votes, the most pledged delegates, and the most state wins. He has also infused the electorate with an energy not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy. He is the future of our party, and more importantly, he is the future of our country.

That is why I would like to make it known that if Senator Obama has won the most votes, delegates, and states, and the super delegates side with Senator Clinton, I will be forced to leave the Democratic Party. I can not, and will not be, associated with a party or a Presidential nominee that ignores the will of the people and the rules that she signed on to over a year ago.

Mister Chairman, I do not write this letter as a threat. I only wish to make it known that my ideals come before politics. From what I have seen of you I believe that you feel the same way. That is why I hope that you will work to ensure that the people’s candidate is our candidate. Once that has happened, I look forward to working for the Democratic Party to ensure that our candidate, Senator Barack Obama, is the next President of the United States.

Yours in Service,

Scott McFarland

5.2

I've had many new experiences since coming to Springfield nearly two years ago. I never imagined that one of those experiences would be my first earthquake. A little after 4:30 this morning, I was awoke from a dream when I realized that my bed was shaking. I stood up immediately, thinking that Amber was trying to wake me up. To my surprise, the bed was not the only thing shaking.

I walked uneasily from my bed to the door way. During that split second, I heard that the large mirror attached to my dresser was rattling. As I reached the door, Amber came in from the hallway. We stood in the doorway of the bedroom for a few more seconds until the rumbling subsided.

A few months ago, there had been an explosion at the Springfield power plant, so after the shaking had stopped, I step outside and looked toward the smokes stacks in the distance. When I saw there was no fire, I knew that it had been an earthquake. A few minutes later, CNN confirmed that there had been an earthquake centered around West Salem, Illinois (about 120 miles away from Springfield).

At a little after 10:00 am, an after shock hit that had the apartment rumbling again for a second or two.

In just those few seconds of rumbling over the course of two quakes, I have had enough. My friends on the West Coast can have them. I much prefer my ground being stable.

US Geological Survey info on first quake

AFL-CIO Debate

On Monday afternoon, I received an email from the State Director of Students for Obama. She had asked if I was going to be in Chicago for the Obama Rally near Soldier Field. I had thought about going, but it seemed like a very long trip to hear the Senator speak for only a few minutes. Then, to my surprise, she also asked if I was interested in attending the AFL-CIO Forum where the major Democratic Presidential Candidates would be debating. She had two tickets for me if I wanted them. The prospect of seeing a debate in Soldier Field that was open to only Union members, family, and campaign staff made the trip seem a lot more doable.

It seems that the Bears have made their endorsement.

I arrived at Soldier Field and met up with Scott Rothenberg. Rothenberg lives in Chicago now, so he seemed like an excellent choice for ticket number two. For about an hour I stood outside Soldier Field holding up a large stick that had been plastered with Obama signs. After the rally in one of the parking lots, Rothenberg and I made our way into Soldier Field.

The rally before the forum.

The debate went very well. One of the few worthwhile journalists on cable, Keith Olbermann, moderated, and it was attended by nearly 17,000 people. At the onset of the debate, it was excruciatingly hot, but after about an hour, the sun began to drop behind the cheap seats and the breeze from Lake Michigan started to wonder in.

The Candidates

The debate itself proved that the campaign season had entered into phase two. Now the middle rung candidates were beginning to beat up on the top rung candidates in order to move up into a better position. The strange thing was that the middle candidates, Dodd and Biden were not going after Clinton. Instead, they went after Obama. After the second attack on Obama, I turned to Rothenberg and said, “they are running for VP.” It seems that Dodd and Biden know that they will not be the nominee, but they hope that they can wound Obama and let Hillary know it when it comes time to pick a vice president. Edwards and Obama followed there same strategy of being the outsiders. Richardson did an excellent job of staying out of the fighting. He is trying to be the “under the radar” candidate, and it may just work. Kucinich had his best night, but proved with his ideas that he will never be mainstream enough to be President. Clinton stuck to the same old song in dance of experience and when that did not work, she yelled. The winner of the debate had to be Keith Olbermann. He kept the egos and the unions in check, and he put on a good show.

Olbermann greats the candidates.

The highlights of the evening came when Obama was trying to point out what he actually said about Pakistan. No, he didn’t want to bomb or invade… despite what the “left wing” media wants us to think. He simply said that if he knew Bin Laden was in Pakistan, and the President of Pakistan would not act, he would. Clinton’s rebuttal was priceless. She stated that people running for President should not always say what they think and they shouldn’t deal in hypotheticals. I’m sorry; I thought that was the point of debating. I guess she would rather the country just blindly follow.

Hillary doing what she does best... yelling.

If Obama is going to have a chance to win this thing, he is going to have to learn how to debate with a time limit. He needs to realize that his long answers just won’t work on prime time. If he can take the hopes and dreams that he presents in his stump speeches and present them in a matter of a few seconds, he will be President, and we will be better for it.

Rothenberg and I, after the debate.

Eleven Score and Eleven Years Ago

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Declaration of Independence
1776

I have always found that there are certain days of the year where everyone comes together. We no longer let our ideals or backgrounds divide us. We use the holiday to reflect on where we came, and more important where we are going.

On this 4th of July, our Independence Day, I hope that we all can learn to respect each other. Too often, some question the patriotism of others when they speak in descent of the leaders of the time. I submit that we are all Patriots to the cause. Be you right, left, or middle. We all stand up and respect the red, white, and blue. We all would gladly die in order to promise the freedom we have to our children.

On this, the 231st Independence Day, let us all thank the founding fathers and those who came after. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that we were given the privilege to live in the greatest Republic this world has ever seen. Let us all stand together and reaffirm the pledge "to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Time Flys

It is hard to believe that it has been nearly two months since my last post. Since then, I have gone full time with the Illinois Commission. I'll continue to work full time until the end of the summer. It has been a very good experience for me to have a place to work every day on a normal schedule. I feel that I have accomplished a great many things, and as time goes by, I'll write about those accomplishments.

I have also been contemplating my future a great deal. In a little over a month, I will reach the one year mark of my eighteen month internship. In less than a year, I will be again out of school and looking for a career. There won't be any turning back this time. I will have all the schooling I can handle for the time being and I will have quite a few student loans to repay.

Looking forward, this next year will be the most tumultuous and, hopefully, one of the most formative years of my life. So on this, the belated second anniversary of my on-line journal, I find myself looking at an unknown future with all of the hope and excitement that one can hope for.